Jan Mittermeier’s Power

Once again, county supervisors are clashing with Jan Mittermeier, county executive officer, over prerogatives. Ultimately, the burden must rest with the supervisors to live within the structure of executive decision-making they have agreed to, and then demand accountability within that system.

If they don’t like the personnel decisions of the county’s chief executive, they can get somebody else to do the job. The proper response is not to return to the bad old pre-bankruptcy days when the supervisors micromanaged everything in county government.

The latest flap arose over Mittermeier’s reported effort to oust John Sibley, head of the Public Facilities and Resources Department. The supervisors have been asking some good questions about why a popular department head, shouldering a department that took a hit after the bankruptcy, was targeted. Sibley’s financial operations and internal controls rated favorably in audits this year.

The problem came when Mittermeier reportedly tried to fire Sibley without notifying supervisors or giving a reason. Surely if she had a problem with this important senior manager, it would have been better to share that reasoning with the supervisors. All of this raises legitimate questions about Mittermeier’s management style and whether she is arbitrary or keeps things too close to the vest.

It would be preferable for the county executive to have the necessary authority to do the job, but to do so fairly and in a spirit of shared information. This is after all the public’s business that is being conducted.

But the supervisors may have overreacted on the question of prerogatives. Board Chairman Charles V. Smith, who negotiated Mittermeier’s contract last fall, has regretted publicly not obtaining more board oversight of all Mittermeier’s personnel decisions. Last Tuesday, supervisors met privately to discuss Mittermeier’s performance and adjourned without taking any action. But any move to change her contract in midstream potentially could trigger a crisis at the Hall of Administration.

If the supervisors don’t approve of Mittermeier’s management style or the manner in which they are being informed, they can take that into account at contract renewal time.